Pieter de Villiers – One hit wonder
The name Pieter de Villiers has been doing rounds in the rugby circles for a while now. Controversy has’t been left behind wherever and whenever it is mentioned. When de Villiers was appointed in January 2008 we all knew he was not the best man for the job. SARU indicated that his rugby credentials were not the sole motivation for his appointment. It comes as a surprise that the entrusted brains in this organization would think appointing a black man as a national coach would transform the game which has been used as the driving the force behind the dark cloud which covered this country for many years. Although it cannot be over looked that political interference might have played a role in his appointment, SARU needs to take the responsibility for PDV’s failure. One can only hope the administrators will come to realize that they have failed the nation and PDV by choosing him over those who were better equipped and qualified for the job. As philosophical as he tried to be, I was not surprised to hear PDV try to console himself instead of admitting he failed. “”It was a brilliant journey – something you cannot take away from me”. ….He truly sounded like a POP star. Take what away from you?
The PDV experiment has yielded mixed results. Hate him or love him he gave few blows to his haters in 2009. One year of brilliance makes him my one hit wonder. His achievements include being the first Springbok coach since Nelie Smith to have secured a series win over the British and Irish Lions and being the first Springbok coach since Nick Malett, to have a 100% wins record over the All Blacks in a single year. Taking over the number 1 ranked team in 2008, many could have expected the 2007 Springboks to dominate world rugby for many years to come. He took over a team which had a lot of players who had yet to reach their prime. A predicted smooth ride would turn in to a rollercoaster. The lowlights of his career include 19-0 pasting by the All Blacks at home in 2008, losing to the lowly Scotland away in 2010, the quarter final exit in the 2011 IRB World Cup and finishing 4th on the IRB rankings in 2011. His overall win percentage is sitting at 62.5% (Fourth highest since 1994). The transformation state which was his triumph card in 2008 has not changed during his reign.